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Posted: **Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:58 am**

Does anyone else get the feeling, that sometimes mouthpieces are nothing but a tuba players bling-bling?

(I'm having a pretty rough start to my day...and at only 7:56 am!!!!!!!....so please....humor me)

Posted: **Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:03 am**

I won't say that mouthpieces are NOTHING but bling-bling, but I will say that some people do buy mouthpieces for the wrong reasons...

"Yeah, it's gold..."

Posted: **Mon Sep 08, 2008 9:45 am**

I just hate it when my mouthpiece makes that BLING sound - which means it just hit the floor/pavement - ouch!!

Personally, if I have a mouthpiece that works well with a given instrument/given musical situation/my face, and I get all of them together at the same time, life's grand.

Posted: **Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:16 am**

bloke wrote:Here's the upside of buying mouthpieces, trying them for a while, and (if they don't work out) reselling them:

*IF* you manage to keep mouthpieces in near-new condition (*since* mouthpieces have no significant moving or hidden parts), you can often resell them for a reasonably large percentage of the original price.

bloke "who *DOES NOT* have fifty-some-odd mouthpieces sitting in pretty rows on top of a desk in a study"

How about a 100+% of the original price?? haha

Mouthpieces can also be good paperweights or even be placed onto a keychain......you can't lose your keys if you don't feel the "normal" heavy weight associated with them!

Posted: **Mon Sep 08, 2008 4:20 pm**

Scooby Tuba wrote:How "blingy" (is that even a word?) can a mouthpiece really be?

Gold-plate this... "Megatone" that...

Posted: **Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:28 pm**

Haha, thanks! I was very pleasantly surprised when I started watching that show. I like it and it likes me.

Even in my first two years of high schools, I've seen quite a few instances of, in my opinion, buying solely for the "bling" factor. Why get a silver 'piece like all the other chumps when you can (AND FOR NO LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY HAR HAR HAR) get a GOLD one?

And let's not forget, "( pro musician ) uses this mouthpiece, so it must be the best thing in forever EVER!".

Posted: **Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:51 pm**

The Jackson wrote:Even in my first two years of high schools, I've seen quite a few instances of, in my opinion, buying solely for the "bling" factor. Why get a silver 'piece like all the other chumps when you can (AND FOR NO LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY HAR HAR HAR) get a GOLD one?

Did you ever think that it might be a preference of "feel"? I always liked the "feel" of a gold-plated mouthpiece over a silver one. It was never a question of what looked cool. It was rather a search for comfort. I mean, if you're going to be practicing and playing quite a bit, shouldn't you have something that fits you?

Posted: **Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:04 pm**

I appreciate that and understand why someone would want gold-plating or something else like that. The point I'm trying to get across is that some people buy these for other reasons (that have nothing to do with their playing).

Posted: **Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:18 pm**

The Jackson wrote:I appreciate that and understand why someone would want gold-plating or something else like that. The point I'm trying to get across is that some people buy these for other reasons (that have nothing to do with their playing).

And in essence, would be the mouthpiece "bling" factor.

Posted: **Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:34 pm**

My bling mouthpiece is an old Gold plated Helleberg with spinning rims and diamond inserts.

Kevin "who plays on Herco, Conn 2, and Laskey" Specht

Posted: **Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:16 pm**

Has anyone else "bedazzled" their mouthpiece?

Posted: **Tue Sep 09, 2008 1:04 am**

People have asked me about my black nickel mouthpiece? It's just really tarnished silver. FREE BLING IS BETTER THAN GOLD BLING.

Posted: **Tue Sep 09, 2008 1:15 am**

bloke wrote:
bloke "who *DOES NOT* have fifty-some-odd mouthpieces sitting in pretty rows on top of a desk in a study"

A poll. How many people can imagine bloke having:

a) fifty-some-odd mouthpieces
b) a study

Posted: **Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:10 am**

bloke wrote:Thirty years ago (back when cortisone cream was a PRESCRIPTION drug that came in teeny-tiny tubes ) I had a reaction to silver plated mouthpieces...tiny little blisters.

Someone suggested to me that I gold plate my mouthpieces...It worked. Today, I don't seem as sensitive to silver. (Maybe, because I'm not hitting it 6 hrs./day anymore.) However, I got used to (as long as I prevented them from getting scuffed) the slippery feeling of 24K gold plating.

I like my (high gloss finish) stainless steel mouthpieces for the same reason...and (also) because there is no gold that would have eventually worn off.

bloke "Heck, I like a Kellyberg when I have a very loud / very intense 3-hr. gig for the same reason: comfort"

It may be that there was some sort of nickel alloy in your mouthpiece back then. I used a mouthpiece that was nickel(ish) that did the same thing.

Of course, when I owned a nickel plated St. Pete, I also had a rash break out on my arm where my skin touched the horn.
I ended up wearing sweat bands on my arm where it touched.....it was like a Richard Simmons Tuba Workout video.

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